On Thursday, April 17th we visited Gettysburg, PA and the new Visitors Center. The center just opened up on Monday, April 14th. It presents in some detail the three days of battle on July 1, 2, & 3, 1863 in both film and displays. There is also a large gift shop and restaurant. From here, one can book tours to the battlefield as well as the Eisenhower farm. The center also has two large theaters showing an informative film on the battle and the events that lead up to it. Admission to the museum is free, however there is an $8 charge to see the film. After purchasing our tickets, we settled in to watch the film. Just as it was about to start, there was a very loud noise. It was the fire alarm! The whole center had to be evacuated. Since we had already handed in our tickets, we wound up outside, no tickets. Due to the evacuation, we were unable to get a refund, but the staff said all we had to do was come back and show them our tickets. But we had none. Fortunately, we were able to re-enter after about 15 minutes and were able to see the film; this time without any disruption.
Prior to visiting the Visitors Center, we booked a commercial battlefield tour for $41.50/pp which included three local museums. We visited the Lincoln Train Museum. This was really interesting, it contained numerous model train sets from the 1800s to today by Lionel, Marks, Ives and MTH. One of the most interesting was a chrome set made by Ives that sold in 1925 for $100; it has to be worth a small fortune today. They also had an operational model railroad. Its main attraction was a simulated train trip through the Civil War countryside made by Lincoln on his way to Gettysburg to deliver his famous speech. The Gettysburg Battle Theater was also interesting; it gave an excellent overview of the military events that lead up to Gettysburg and the three days of battle. This turned out to be a good stop prior to our battlefield tour. The third museum we visited, the Soldiers National Museum, turned out to be a real rip-off; poorly designed with trivial displays of little educational or other value.
Prior to visiting the Visitors Center, we booked a commercial battlefield tour for $41.50/pp which included three local museums. We visited the Lincoln Train Museum. This was really interesting, it contained numerous model train sets from the 1800s to today by Lionel, Marks, Ives and MTH. One of the most interesting was a chrome set made by Ives that sold in 1925 for $100; it has to be worth a small fortune today. They also had an operational model railroad. Its main attraction was a simulated train trip through the Civil War countryside made by Lincoln on his way to Gettysburg to deliver his famous speech. The Gettysburg Battle Theater was also interesting; it gave an excellent overview of the military events that lead up to Gettysburg and the three days of battle. This turned out to be a good stop prior to our battlefield tour. The third museum we visited, the Soldiers National Museum, turned out to be a real rip-off; poorly designed with trivial displays of little educational or other value.
For dinner, we ate at the Dobbin House Tavern. It had a Civil War era atmosphere, the building being one of the oldest in Gettysburg. Food, drink and ambiance were excellent. We would highly recommend this for a very enjoyable dinning experience.
The battlefield tour conducted by a licensed tour guide proved to be real interesting and worthwhile. The two hour tour gave us a real good appreciation of the three days of battle, the significance of the terrain and the major events that took place.
The battlefield tour conducted by a licensed tour guide proved to be real interesting and worthwhile. The two hour tour gave us a real good appreciation of the three days of battle, the significance of the terrain and the major events that took place.
We stopped at Little Round Top and learned about Gouverneur Warren and his last-minute defense of Little Round Top.
This is a hill at the left flank of the Union defenses that on the second day of battle, as the Confederates were attacking, was as a result of some Union maneuvers left undefended. Brigadier General Warren was General Hooker's chief topographical engineer and not in command of troops. However, he recognized the importance of the undefended position on the left flank of the Union Army and on his own initiative, organized its defense just in time to stop a Confederate assault. For this he is known as the "Hero of Little Round Top"; his gallantry and initiative was instrumental in the Union victory at Gettysburg and in turn for preserving the Union.
This is a hill at the left flank of the Union defenses that on the second day of battle, as the Confederates were attacking, was as a result of some Union maneuvers left undefended. Brigadier General Warren was General Hooker's chief topographical engineer and not in command of troops. However, he recognized the importance of the undefended position on the left flank of the Union Army and on his own initiative, organized its defense just in time to stop a Confederate assault. For this he is known as the "Hero of Little Round Top"; his gallantry and initiative was instrumental in the Union victory at Gettysburg and in turn for preserving the Union. As with all the others who fought to preserve the Union, we owe them so very much. Each one of us should make time to visit Gettysburg and other Civil War sites to recognize and honor the sacrifices that made our country great, united and free, whose wealth and blessings we now enjoy in freedom today, so that we may all continue to do so in the future.
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